Apparatus for stacking carton blanks



A. ESSEX 'AL APPARATUS FOR STACKING CARTON BLANKS June 3, 1952 9 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 4, 1950 A. ESSEX l' AL APPARATUS FOR STACKING CARTON BLANKS June 3, 1952 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 4, 1950 ATTORNEY June 3, 1952 A. Essl-:x ETAL APPARATUS Foa sTAcKING CARTON BLANKs 9 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed MaIfOh 4, 1950 s e@ Rxmb oean W TSG@ Ns.n,/ ,wffQ Wer# www@ /MWl @ff vh 9 Sheets-Sheet 6 June 3, 1952 A. Essex E-rAL APPARATUS FOR STACKING CARTON BLANKS Filed March 4, 1950 June 3, 1952 A. EssEx ErAL APPARATUS-FOR STACKING CARTON BLANKS 9 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed March 4, 1950 si @@lyfa June 3, 1952 A. EssEx ErAl.

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APPARATUS FOR STACKING CARTON BLANKS ATTORNEY Patented June 3, 1952 APPARATUS FOR STACKING CARTN BLANKS Alois Essex, Glendale, Elmer Garrett, Freeport, and John K-allenberg, Stewart Manor, N, Y., assignors to The Sperry Corporation, a corpog1 ration of Delaware Application March 4, 1950, Serial No. 147,646

This invention is designed primarily for the convenient assemblage or stacking of carbon blanks as they come from the forming stage, preliminary to such final treatment as their particular requirements call for to prepare them for their ultimate use.

The invention is especially adapted and is primarily intended for edge or upright stacking of the blanks as they come from the forming mechanism, the stack building up horizontally with the blanks vertical, although it is capable of employment to assemble the blanks in a vertical stack, feeding either to the top or bottom of the stack.

While the invention is applicable to blanks of any conventional size, it has especial utility with relatively small size blanks, as for packages which may be carried in a vest pocket and which, therefore, are discharged in great rapidity from a continuous forming mechanism. Y

The invention contemplates, as an incident of the operation, the weakening of a traveling strip or web of card board or other suitable material from which paper cartons are made, at regularly spaced intervals along its length, as by transverse slits which partially sever the material and provide tearing lines, and at the same time the formation of two opposed lateral notches intermediate the weakened or tearing lines, and the repetitious sudden acceleration of the end section in advance of the foremost slit, thus tearing off that advanced section, and the gripping of the successive separated blank sections and moving them to a position where they are stacked with their notches upon a pair of rods.

The grippers rotate about an axis parallel with the plane of the traveling strip and the rods are so disposed that their ends enter into the notches at a selected point in the movement of the blanks and strip the blanks from the grippers. Preferably this is done after a rotation of about 90, thus causing the blanks to assume an erect position and to build up the stack horizontally. A reciprocating hook operated in properly timed relation to the delivery of the blanks on to the rods, forces each blank up against the stack and thus advances the stack each time the thickness of a blank. Y

The embodiment of the invention selected for the purpose of illustration and shown in the accompanying drawings will now be described, after which the invention will bepointed out in claims.

Figs. 1A and 1B together constitutes a plan of a complete machine embodying the invention.

6 Claims. (Cl. 271-71) Figs. 2A and 2B together constitute a longitudinal sectional elevation of the machine.

:Fig 3 is a side elevation of the front portion of the machine with the gear case in section. j

Fig. 4 is an opposite side elevation of substantiallythe same portion of the machine asis shown in Fig. 3 with thegear case in section.

Fig. 5 is a plan on enlarged scale of the gripper roll and of the adjacent ends of the stripper and guide rods and of the reciprocating hooks.

Fig. 6 is a sectional elevation on the scale Vof Fig. 5 on the line 6 6 in Figs. 1A and 5.

Fig. l'I is a detail in side elevation of aguide rod and reciprocating hook combination.

Fig. 8 is a plan of the same. x:

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal sectional elevationjof the same, showing the hookretracted.

Fig. l0 is a sectional plan of the same. f V. ,r

Fig. 11 is a transverse section of the sama, on line Il-Il ofFig. '7.

Fig. 12 is a transverse section through a stack showing the manner of stacking on the rods.

Fig. 13 is. a transverse section on the line l3-I3 of Fig. 1A.

Fig. 14 is an enlarged face view of a blank section such as the apparatus forms and stacks.`

Fig. 15 is a plan of a web as it enters the apparatus.

Figs. 16, 17 and 18 show the web in successive stages of the operation.

As shown, the blanking mechanism is connected directly on to a printer and is driven by the same power shaft as is the printer. In order to understand the purpose and operation of the mechanism, it will be well to refer to the product drawings constituting Figs. 14 to 18.A The final productkwhich is formed and Stacked'by this mechanism is shown in Fig. 14 and is, in reality, a duplex blank, that is, -two individual nal blanks 'connected together, which is designated generally by the letter A. This blank has been scored andcut so as to form foldablef tabs and notches and a transverse tearing line. The light lines represent the scoring and the heavy lines represent the cuts. In this particular blank cuts a and score lines b have been formed in each individual half of the duplex blank, making two small square tabs and two oblong tabs on each edge of each half and transverse and longitudinal lines b on which it may be folded. Also on each edge between the two individual blanks is formed a notch c, and a transverse slit a forms a tearing line joining the middle of the notches.

This duplex blank shown in Fig. 14 is one'- of the blank sections torn from the traveling strip and caught by the grippers and stacked. It therefore had a weakened line at each end which is designated a'. Since the strip is torn off in sections on the lines a', it will be appreciated that the intermediate tearing line a is merely incidental and `plays '.n'o part in the stepswhichconstitute this finvention. 'In a subsequent operation not disclosed herein and forming no part of this invention, the pair of individual blanks are torn apart on the line a whichintersectsthe notches, and the individual blanks 'are'properly folded into cartons and are delivered to a filling machine. By severing :the :blanks `in pairs, the notches c are obtained -whichfserve azfunction in stacking.

The printed sheet or web B emerges from the printer P and in practiceis wide enough tomake several rows of blanks. For this purpose the sheet is cut into a plurality of strips, shown as three in the drawings but in practice consider- "blyfexceeding-that number. Fig. lshows .the sheet `V'cut .into 'Ithe .three stripsBI, B2 and i133. iAs "willbe shown, ithis :is :done by idies vcn .ahrst pair o1' rolls as the :sheet travels. 'Themext pair 'df rolls puts 1in the'longitudinalicreases, convertingthestrips to the rondition shown .in L'Fig. :17. A 'third pair :of .rollsmake .the transverse cuts land' creasesiand also make :thezcuts inthe'bottoms of the znotchesrc, .leavinglthe `strips .as shown in Fig. 18. .'As the stripspassthroug'ha fourth vpair foi.' rrolls, the .small ipeces cut 'nut :to form the notches are Sknocked out. The :continuousistrips lare then ready :to beitorn into their :sections which constitutefthe ilankzunitsy thatarestacked, and this is done by meansicfsucceeding-.rclls, as iwillrbefseen.

Figs. 1B .and `2B .fshow the dirst part fof :the mechanism i in fthe :order .of :operation which prerparesthefsheet in theform shnwnirrFig. v18, v.the

nal portion which separates lthe Tsheet .into L1 blanks andstacksxthe rblank. being shown in'Figs. 1A :and 2A, Vit .being Vlunderstood'that.the dot .and fdash 'lines' .X-X and 'Y-;Y :are .the lines on which the figures having the same caption .letetersnreitohe'jonred.

The iram'e fof the mechanism :consists 'of the bedlp'late In sand .the :two side plates III .and I2. Bearing in the side plates are four pairs of .simirolls Aarranged intandem,.all driven from a shaft I3 which runs along theoutenside of -plxte 4I2 'continuing from the printer `and bears fin (brackets ILon the outerface of 4the'plate- .The trolls .are :solid :metal .rolls .having two 4re- :ductions @inzdiam'eter and Onbneend-eachpair .is geared .togetherin a one-to-'one .ratio vand-:onthe aothergend the lower'roll nf the .pairfis-connected :byfbevelggears to be drivenfrom the shaft I3.

Thefrstpairof rolls .to .act on .thersheet `B asrit comes from the printer :are the rolls i5 and I5' which -are centered between .the side Yplates of tlretrame -by reduced zend portions of .the rolls that-are.continuedasiiurther reduced hubs bear- -ixrg in theside plates. Gears I 6 and 1I6' on the vouter ends `of the 'hubs outside ofthe plate I-I are `inanesh, and bevelgear I1:on the outer-end of .the hub (of roll ,I5 outside the plate I2 vmeshes -with bevel-fgear Il'zonfshaf-.t I3 4andisvdriven thereby. .Thus the'shaft I3 -drives'rolls lI5 and I5 at -the .sameengular and Aperipheral speed. These rolls have diesl which -.eut the sheet B into :a ,plurality of longitudinal fstrips, shownas vthree :in Fig. 16. vFrom thence Athe `sheet 1in strip form vpasses through -thet'next pair of rolls which Jhave dies to do -th'e longitudinal scoring or creasing as shown inFig. 17. These :rollsfare numbered 'I8 4 and I8 and except for the dies are similar in all respects to rolls I5 and I5', being geared together by gears I9 and I9 and roll I8 being driven from shaft I3 by bevel gears 20 and 20.

From this second pair of rolls the sheet passes fthrough the third paix-'still shown Fig. 1B. This pair consists of rolls 2| andLZlI which have dies that do the transverse scoring and cutting tand cut the bottom of the notches c, leaving the strips ,asshown in Fig. 18. The rolls are geared togetherby'gears and 22' and roll 2| is driven from shaft I3 by bevel gears 23 and 23'.

E-romlrolls 1I, :ZI 'the strips continue through 'th'e'fourth :pair of .rolls which are the first and relatively large Y'rolls shown on Fig. 2A. These rolls *2l and'2`4' are geared together by gears 25 :andlfVandroll V24 has a drive connection with shaft I3 throughbevel gears 25 and 26. Dies on i'this pair of rolls are fashioned to knock out the loose, cut-out pieces from the strips.

.IA gear case cover 21 encloses y'the .gears foutside '.thezsidezplate :I I 'and a=cover Y2.8 encloses the -shaft l3s'andfthebevelf gears and-bearing brackets outside-.the plate I2.

'The four -pairs -of lrolls --which have ybeen 2described all act as feed rolls forthe weblmaterial `andhave'substantialiy:the same peripheral speed. From the rolls F2li yand .124 the strips proceed through-two -smaller roll pairs, `aswillxbe seen-in Fig. 2A, lfor example, and vthe strips are torn 4into blank sections on .the Llines a' .in Va :manner that--willznow bezdescribed. .In this case,.however. the" upper rolls :are .-not' unitary, Efull length 'rolls but instead in each case comprise a plurality of :separate coaxial rolls corresponding in .number l'to.thetnumberrofstrips. Hencein the illustrated construction we will :see that there are three upper 'rollsfoneaeh :roll pair. Thertwo .rollxpairs :arezarranged infcloseftandem Ywith Vtheir :bites .on the strips spaced .less :than -the distance Ibetween two .successive -tearinglines a.

.The 'lower vrolls -.of two roll :pairs are driven from the shaft of .roll .-24 :and the three part upper roll lo1. each `pair is .not .positively driven. .Thej two lower rolls fare numbered, rrespectively, 29 .and `30, 'theserolls being falso -solid `.metal-rolls with vreduced centering fende and fiurther reduced hub lportions that bear lin side plates I.I 'and I l2. The rolls are substantially haii.' the size 'of roll 2-4v andsincethey have substantially .the sameperipheral speed as roll' 24, they are-drivenratsubstantlally double the R. P. M. of .roll V24.

Thegeardrive'is shown inFigs. 1A and .3. -On the projecting Aend of :the hub of roll-3U outside plate II is a'geariI 'which is one-half the pitch diameter of gear-25'on1rol1 24. These twogears are connected through an vidler gear 32 on a `stubshaft that bears .'inside plate II. On the samestubrshaft is 'gear .33 that 'meshes witha gear 34fon the hub of rollzpthe ratio between .gears 33 and v34 .being such that roll 29 is driven at the same R. P. M. as'=is roll 30 and at double the R. P.M.-.of roll24.

.The .threeupperrolls forrollZS are each'num- 'bered 29' 4and .the three v.upper rolls for roll -30 are each numbered 30. Each ofthe threerolls 29 has its axis bearing in a bifurcated support 35 that is secured at Aits rear endon to arock .shaft 38 thatxextends transverselyacross the machine and lbears lin plates I'I and I2. 'Thissrock shaft has alever arm 31 secured'on it just inside plate I2 and having a roller 38 on its free'end which-rideson a four lobe'cam'38 on the reduced end 'of roll 24. The rolls 29' rest of 'their own weight on roll 29 or the web between them,`and

periodically when the rolls 39 and 39' are tearing oir the end blank sections, the rolls 29 are pressed down with added force toward roll 29 by the action of the cam 39 on the bell-crank lever support for rolls 29', thus gripping the running strips as a sudden pull is exerted on their end sections. As a matter of fact the roll 29 is given a slight overdrive to keep the web under tension for the action of the dies on the knock-out rolls 24 and 24', and web tensioning means (not shown) are provided for a similar purpose in front and rear of each of the rolls I 8 and 2|.

The three upper rolls 39' each have their axes bearing in bifurcated hangers 49 similar to the lever arms 35. These hanger arms 49 bear at their rear ends on a transverse rod 4I and have an upward extension 42 that, for the purpose of adjustment, has near its free end a hole in which is entered a screw stud 43 extending forwardly from a bracket 44 bolted on top of the plates II and I2. A coil spring.45 on the stud back of the extension 42 urges the extension 42 forward against an adjustable stop 46.

The roll 39 has two peripheral raised portions first line a', the web being gripped at that instant by the engagement of rolls 29 and 29' through the properly timed action of cam 39. The bite of rolls 39 and 39 during the period of acceleration is just ahead of line a' and back of the leading line a, and the bite of the rolls 29 and 29 at that instant is back of the leading line a' and ahead of the second line a. Hence the tear is bound to occur on the line a. between theV bites.

The stop 46 is set so that the rolls 39 are free of the web except during the passage of the portions 39" past the plane intersecting the axes of rolls 39 and 39', as a result of which the web strips pass freely over roll 39 except for the periods when the portions 39" are operating. As i the blank sections are torn off, they are fed forward at the accelerated rate into grippers, the construction and operation of which will now be described.

In front of the roll 39 is a gripper roll 41. This i roll is hollow and has its ends reduced similar to the preceding rolls within which is secured an axle member 41' which bears in the side plates I I and I2. The roll 41 has three gripper bearing portions in line with the respective rolls 39' and between the gripper bearing portions are circumferential grooves within which operate stripper fingers as will laterappear.

The gripper roll 41 is of the same diameter as the unraised portion of roll 39 and is driven by roll 39 at one-half the R. P, M. of roll 39. In other words, since rolls 39 and 39 deliver two blanks during each rotation of the roll 39, the gripper roll will receive four blanks during its rotation for each blank strip, that is, for each roll 39. Consequently in the construction shown, the gripper roll will receive twelve blanks during each rotation. Therefore, as will later lbe explained in detail, each gripper bearing portion of the gripper roll has four grippers spaced 90 apart.

-The drive for the gripper roll is shown in Figs. 1A and 4, and consists of a sprocket wheel 48 on the end of the hub of roll 39 outside the plate I2, a sprocket wheel 49 on the endof the axle 41' and a sprocket chain 59 on these two sprockets. The sprocket 49 is twice the size cf sprocket 48 and hence roll 41 turns at half the speed of roll 39.

The individual grippers consist each of two nat springmembers 5I with their free ends extending rearwardly with relation to the direction of rotation which is counterclockwise as shown in Fig. 6. These gripper fingers are provided with a reverse bend so as to have a resilient line contact with the roll surface some distance from the fixed end, and then they extend out more or less tangentially to form a guide for the blanks underneath the ngers and into the nip of the grippers.

The cooperative action of the tearing and gripping rolls will be apparent :from Figs. 2A and 6. In Fig. 2A the central blank strip B2 is being fed toward the left by rolls 24 and 24 and by rolls 29 and 29', the feed being toward the left. The

' lobe of cam 39 is just about to raise roller 38 and cause roll 29 to exert a squeeze on the web. Also the raised portion 39 of roll 39 is just about to engage the web and tear off the leading blank section.

In the position shown in Fig. 6, these actions have occurred. The leading blank, marked A, is torn from the strip B2 and the length of portion 39 is such as to propel the severed blank underneath the slower moving gripper ngers 5I. The continuous repetition of this action and the rotation of the gripper roll causesthe blanks to be delivered and stacked in a manner now to be described. Associated with and overlying each pair of gripper ngers is a bowed wiper strip 52 having its convex side out. The function of the wiper is to promote the correct movement of the blank ahead in case it gets stuck cr is sluggish about assuming its correct position.

The stack holders for the blanks of eachstrip consist of two parallel guide and supporting rods 53, the ends of which operate as pick-off lingers. The construction of thees rods is shown in detail in Figs. 7 to l2, inclusive. They consist of elongated, tubular members, slotted on the upper side of their receiving cr pick-ofi" ends and having their extreme pick-off ends extending upwardly at an oblique angle and hence slotted through so as to be bifurcated, The top edges of the slotted end are provided with teeth shaped to allow the blanks to pass over them freely in the direction toward the stack but having abrupt edges in the opposite direction to prevent the return of the blanks.

Slidable in the slot of each rod lis a hook member 54. This hook member consists of a round rod or wire with a bent-up end that reciprocates in the slotted end of the guide rod. The hook rod extends into the axial bore of the guide rod and is reciprocated therein by a pivoted lever or pitman 55 actuated through mechanism presently to be described. As shown, the hook rod has its inner end screw threaded and screws into a block 59 which is square inrcross section and slides in a square slot 51 in the rod53, having a lateral pin 58 which extends out of the slot and serves as a wrist pin for the pitrnan.

The hook 54 is reciprocated four times for each rotation of the gripper roll, that is, once for the passage of each gripper and also once for the movement of each raised'pportion 30" on roll 39 through operative center, since roll 30 turns at double the angular speed of roll 41. The drive ffmrthe ,fpitman l515 is takenofflfrom .the roll --30, as .shown @specially in Eigfi. 'A'sprocket .59 'on the fhub;of.-roll 3putside sprocket-48 drives -sprocket i60 which bears 'ina'a 'bracket 6I on thelowerpart ref platey Hpbymeans-of chainSZ thatY run over Ithe :,twosprockets. The'lower'spro'cketishalf the size of the upper sprocket, and therefore a crank -disc'on:the:innerendof the hub of sprocket 68 .isz rdtatedat ,twicathe angularspeed of 'roll 3l)4 and Vfheneeat four timesthe angular speed'of the gripfperiroll #1.

Attached to ithe -front -or delivery end of the machinelframe are twoanglemernbers 64 which have l.each a side :plate and a narow horizontal flange on .its bottom and ktogether constitute a g .stackervrame -whichisopen at its outer end. A rock shaft -551bears 4in .bracketson the under side of .stacker Aframe members G4 and this rock Vshaft -isaCtuated -by crank -disc'63 through link 66 and --lever 1. This -rockshaft 65 aotuates the-several pitmans 55 through lever-68 and link 69, one for -each vstacker rod '53, the pitmans having a substantially-central Yfulcrum, being pivoted to outstanding arms .10 that-are attached to a plate 'Il that-extends -across theouter-end of the stacker :frame The stacker rods 53 are supported from jplate 1| through bracket fmeans shown in Fig. 2A and rsomewhat more in detail in Fig. 13. Upstanding from the plate 1| are two supporting .pins 12, v.the upper ends 'of which are entered in holes in a short tangential bracket plate 13 on each .rod .53. In-the .case-of the two outer stacking irods these plates 13 extend outwardly, and in thecase of the four intermediate rods the plates .of .adjacent rods Aextend toward each other and overlap, .the twooverlapped plates being supportedlby acommon .pair-of pins T2. vAs will be seen 'in fEigs. LA and 5, -the pairs of rods diverge or fan out toward their delivery ends so that individual stacks becomesegregated as they build up.

The Way zthe blanks are delivered to the stack is .best .illustrated in Fig. 6. As there shown, -blank A has just 4been torn from strip .B2 and de- ?livered to the grippers that are up at that instamt. The preceding blank A has been carried around by its 4g-rippers through an arc'of 90 and is therefore vertical. The blank ahead of A', namely, blank A", has been picked ofi by the upturned .ngers or pick-off ends of rods 53, the parts being so located that the pick-off fingers enter the notches -c of the blanks and strip the blanks from .the grippers. To illustrate this, the blank A is shown in dotted lines in Fig. 6 in the position which Vit occupies when its grippers have turned to the position in which they are shown in dotted lines. In the sweep of blank A' from the full line to the dotted line position, the notches c pass over the ends of the pick-off ingers. At that instant the hook 54 is timed to move to the left and pull the blank up -against the stack which is indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 6.

It may happen, particularly when running slowly, that the blank will not be given enough Vmomentum to slide down the Ainclined pick-off end of rods 53 to a position in front of the hooks 54. `In that case the wipers 52 associated with the immediately following g-rippers will wipe the delinquent blank and push it down into the range of the hook.

If `accidentally the notches c should not -register with and pass over the ends of the pick-off iingers, the lblank will of course be carried on around. To take care of such errant blanks,

All'

stripper iiingers `'I4 `are Aprovided which mide vin the 'grooves in v.roll 41 -between andoutside -the '.grippenbearing portions of 'the-roll. Thesestripperffingers are -disposed about opposite the receiving grippers, as shown in Fig. 5, andare lattachedto and supported by-a transversebar 15 `underneath the vroll 41 and attachedatitsends -to theiplates fl I -and 12. Inicase a blank escapes the gpick-,ofiv `iingers, the `appropriate :stripper Ingers -14 `will stripit out of its :grippers .and cause :it-to fall out-of the way.

While a specic embodiment of the invention has beeneshown for the purpose of.illustration,-it will *be -understood .that the invention 1is .not limited `to that .particular-embodiment but is to .include modifications thereof within the .scope .of the invention asdened .in the following claims.

-What .is .claimed is:

l. -Means :for stacking blanks having .lateral notches intermediate their Yends comprising -a gripper roll having at `least one .gripper on .its

periphery, ymeans to rotate the roll, delivery ln'ieansoperating Vin timed `relation to the roll -to one end in the 4pathof the notches -in a blank carried by "the gripper andeperative to strip the blank 'from the gripper, a -reciprocative hook associated with Veach rod operati-ve -to vadvance the `stripped blank 'along the rods, and .means 'for reciprocating the .-ho'oks in time relation lto vthe passage Aof `lthe :gripper across the rod ends.

2. Means for stacking Vblanks having lateral notches intermediate `their 'ends comprising la Agripper -roll having attached to its periphery at least 'one tangential spring gripper, means to rotate the gripper Vroll in a direction with the .free yend of the gripper trailing, delivery `means operating in timed relation to the roll to feed a blank tangentially toward fand at a speed in excess o'f :that of the roll periphery and insert the blank under the gripper on-each rotationof the roll, a pair of parallel :rods 'disposed -Withone end in the path of the notches in the blank carried by the gripper and operative to strip the blank from the gripper, a reciprocative hook associa-ted with each rod operative -to advance the stripped blank along the rods, and means for reciprocating 'the hooks in timed relation to the passage of the gripper across the -rod ends.

v3. Means for stacking blanks having lateral notches intermediate their ends comprising a gripper rol-l 'having attached to its -periphery at least one tangential spring gripper, means to rotate the :gripper roll in a direction with the 'free end-of the gripper trailing, feeding means for the blanks including a pair of feed rolls disposed to deliver blanks tangentially -to the gripper roll, means to rotate the feed rolls at a peripheral speed in excess of that vof the gripper roll, a pair of parallel rods disposed with one end in the path of the notches in the blank carried by the gripper and operative -to strip the vblank from the gripper, areciprocative hook associated with each rod operative to advance the stripped blank along the rods, and means for reciprocating the hooks in timed relation lto the passage of the gripper across the rod ends.

4. Means for stacking blanks having lateral notches intermediate their ends comprising a gripper roll having attached to its periphery at least one tangential spring gripper, means to rotate the gripper roll in a direction with the free end of the gripper trailing, a feed roll for the blanks disposed to feed blanks tangentially to the gripper roll and having on its surface at least one blank propeller operative to advance a blank on each passa ge of the propeller through the plane of gripper roll tangency, means to rotate the feed roll at a peripheral speed double that of the gripper roll, a pair of parallel rods disposed with one end in the path of the notches in the blank carried by the gripper and operative to strip the blank from the gripper, a reciprocative hook associated with each rod operative to advance the stripped blank along the rods, and means for reciprocating the hooks in timed relation to the passage of the gripper across the rod ends.

5. Means for stacking blanks having lateral notches intermediate their ends comprising a gripper roll having attached to its periphery a :plurality of equally spaced tangential spring grippers, means to rotate the gripper roll in a direction with the free ends of the grippers trailing, a pair of feed rolls having their axes in a common vertical plane and disposed to feed blanks tangentially to the gripper roll, the feed rolls being spaced with their peripheries out of contact and the lower roll having on its periphery equally spaced raised portions less in number than the grippers and of a height to cooperate with the'upper roll to feed a blank, means to rotate the lower feed roll at an angular speed such that its peripheral speed exceeds that of the gripper roll by the same ratio that the grippers exceed the raised portions in number, a, pair of parallel rods disposed with one end in the path of the notches in the blank carried by the gripper and operative to strip the blank from the gripper, a reciprocative hook associated with each rod operative to advance the stripped blank along the rods, and means for reciprocating the hooks in timed relation to the passage of the gripper across the rod ends.

6. Means for stacking blanks having lateral A`notches intermediate their ends comprising a 10 gripper roll having attached to its periphery a plurality of equally spaced tangential spring grippers, means to rotate the gripper roll in a direction with the free ends of the grippers trailing, a pair of feed rolls having their axes in a common vertical plane and disposed to feed blanks tangentially to the gripper roll, the feed rolls being spaced with their peripheries out of contact and the lower roll having on its periphery equally spaced raised portions in number onehalf the grippers and of a height to cooperate with the upper roll to feed a blank, means to rotate the lower feed roll at an angular speed such that its peripheral speed is double that of the gripper roll, a pair of parallel rods disposed with one end in the path of the notches in the blank carried by the gripper and operative to strip the blank from the gripper, a reciprocative hook associated with each rod operative to advance the stripped blank along the rods, and means for reciprocating the hooks in timed relation to the passage of the gripper across the rod ends.

ALOIS ESSEX.

ELMER E. GARRETT.

5 JOHN KALLENBERG.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 858,948 Burnside July 2, 1907 865,523 Peters Sept'. 10, 1907 972,300 Vavra Oct. 11, 1910 977,418 McEachron et al. Nov. 29, 1910 1,669,999 Olsen May 15, 1928 1,713,054 Schroeder et al. May 14, '1929 2,251,221 Cleven July 29, 1941 2,294,718 Carroll Sept. l, 1942 2,355,690 Zent Aug. 15, 1944 

